They're ugly because the market which was once (in, say, the 1980s) the "sneaker" market has segmented into two markets: casual sneakers, whose purpose is to lo

They're ugly because the market which was once (in, say, the 1980s) the "sneaker" market has segmented into two markets: casual sneakers, whose purpose is to look cool, and serious exercise shoes, whose purpose is exercise. Serious exercise shoes need to be ugly to distinguish themselves from all-purpose sneakers.